Economics and Business
Quarterly Reviews
ISSN 2775-9237 (Online)
Published: 18 May 2024
A Regional Development Plan: A Case Study of Douglas County, Kansas, USA
Ejiro U. Osiobe, Jeffrey T. Moore, Safia A. Malallah, Khairul Hafezad Abdullah, Davi Sofyan
Baker University (USA), Kansas State University (USA), Universiti Teknologi MARA (Malaysia), Universitas Majalengka (Indonesia)
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10.31014/aior.1992.07.02.577
Pages: 78-88
Keywords: Douglas County, Location Quotient, Porter Cluster, Economic Growth, Economic Development
Abstract
Our research focuses on regional economic growth and development, concentrating on Douglas County, one of the foundational pieces of the Kansas, United States economy. This paper will analyze trends in the County and outline an economic plan for where they should strive to create changes. The method used will compare Douglas County to Kansas and then the United States by industry using a measure called Location Quotient, which measures the strengths and weaknesses of an industry using a ratio matrix. Porter cluster analysis was employed to visualize and analyze how fostering an environment of competition, economic growth, and development will increase productivity, drive business synergy to the industries that need it the most, and stimulate new businesses with economic potential via the results from our Location Quotient analysis within the Douglas County region. Our concluding recommendations will be based on past literature that has commonalities with our finding, providing policymakers, academics, and stakeholders with a spectrum of information while highlighting the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats framework. Our finding aims to provide big-picture systemic changes that can be implemented within the County rather than individual or micro changes impacting less of the population.
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